Electric locomotive



3 SheetST-Sheet 1,

VAN DEPOELE.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIV-E.

Patented Mar. 1'7, 18191.

(No Model.)

814/11 all/bro 1 Charles J 76071176130 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

0. J. VAN DEPOELE. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

"l u mm EXT m n 00 [F w afl Mn 5% I 5 WW w w m M 3 Shets-Sheet 3.

Patented Mar, 17,1891.

' (No Model.)

0; J. VAN 'DEPOELE. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

witnesses v UNITED STATES CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE,

PATENT OFFICE.

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,562, dated March 17, 1891.-

Application filed May 26, 1890- To all tvhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. V AN DE- POELE, a citizen of the United States, resid-- ing at Jynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Locomotives, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in electric locomotives, and more particularly to an electric propelling mechanism in which the motor is mounted upon and wholly sustained by the axles of thetruck carrying the vehicle, so as to form a part of the construction thereof independent of the springs or mechanism supporting the car-body.

Many electric-railway cars are at present operated by a pair of motors, each sleeved on one of the axles of the carrying-wheels, their free ends being sustained by spring-connections and their armature-shafts connected by double gearing with their respective axles. According to the present invention but a single motor is employed,.and said motor is sustained atits opposite ends upon both the axles of the truck with its armature-shaft connected by gearing and imparting power to both of the'said axles. Ample provision is made for the necessary independent move ment of each axleas, for instance, in passing over uneven portions of track; and a particular feature of' the invention relates to the means which I have provided for permitting independent adjustment of said axles to the inequalities of the roadway without pinching, binding, or destroying the gears connecting the armature-shaft and the axles. The motor itself is flexibly sustained, so that it will not be injured b excessive jarring, and the gears between the armature-shaft and the axles are also flexible, in order to prevent injur to the teeth of the pinion under sudden or excessive strain. Furthermotor are detachable and are easily removed and replaced.

The details of construction and arrange ment will be fully hereinafter set forth and referred to in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure V1 is a view in elevation showing a motor embodying the in ven- Serial No. 3 53,246. (No model.)

tion, two of the carrying-wheels in rear thereof with their axlesinsection. Fig. 2 is avicw in elevation showing atruck adapted for use in connection with my improved motor, the motor being indicated'in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the motor with parts removed for better illustration. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a motor, the gearing, and the wheels and axles of a car-truck. Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the wheels of a truck with thegearing and armature-pinion. Fig. 0 is a top plan view of the wheels and gearing shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail elevation of one of the armature-pinions. Fig. 7 is a detail section of one of the armature-pinicns Fig. 8 is-a detail section of one of the gear-wheels.

In the drawings, AB represent pairs of car rying-wheels provided with axles a b. The carrying-wheels are connected to form a truck by a suitable frame G C, substantially as indicated in Fig. 2, the load to be carried being sustained upon the frame. The propellingmotor D extends between and is supported at its opposite extremities by the. axles a 1), its armature-shaft being parallel with and centrally located between the axles to be driven. The general form of the motor comprises two horseshoe field-magnetsE F; provided at their extremities with magnetizing-coils e e f f.

field-magnet coils is bridged by pole-pieces G G, and between the pole-pieces is rotatably mounted the armature ILthe shaft h of which is sustained by diamagnetic yoke-plates g g, carrying suitable bearings and secured to the pole-pieces G G'. The pole-pieces E-F of the horseshoe field-magnets are divisible along the central line, and are provided with lugs 6 e f f, by which they are mechanically connected, and said field-magnets straddle the axles a 12, upon which, are readily placed in position. The central portions of the field-magnet system--that is to say, the pole-pieees G G and the end portions thereof, upon which the magnetizingcoils e e ff are placcd-arepreferablymade of the softest iron and united to the heelpieces E F'by suitable bolts (Z. The structure so formed possesses great mechanical strength, and is at the same time so completely detachable that any part thereof may The distance between the extremities of the be removed or replaced without necessarily taking down the whole machine. The space between the legs of the field-magnets should be somewhat larger than the diameter of the axles a b, so as not to interfere with or prevent independent motion of the axles or movement of the latter with respect to said axles. The motor is sustained in operative position byspring-boxes l l J J, placed upon the axles at each side of each end of the motor, as indicated in Fig. 4. Each box comprises a bearing-block t'j, capable of vertical motion within said box, and the blocks are normally held in central position by supporting-springs i 1 j The boxes are connected to plates l J which fit against the side faces of the heel-pieces of the field-magnets E F of the motor, and being securely bolted thereto mechanically connect the motor with the spring-boxes, so that the entire weight of the motor is sustained thereon at each side of each end. Top and bottom springs being provided in each box, the motor willbe carried between the four sets of supporting=springs It will furthermore be understood that the space existing between the legs of the field-magnets and the axles, taken in connection with the range of the supporting-springs, will permit the motor to move up or down and the axles a b to have their usual freedom of independent. twisting movement without injurious-1y affecting the position of the motor.

The armature-shaft of the motor carries a pinion K, which at its opposite sides meshes with gear-wheels L M upon the axles a b, and l prefer to provide gearing at but one end of the armature-shaft, thereby minimizing the difficulty of transmitting power through a train of gearing the alignment of which is frequently destroyed. The gears L M do not change their position at right angles with the axles a Z); but in order to provide suiiicient elasticity to prevent stripping or breaking any of the g ar-teeth when the motor is suddenly started or stopped, or is subjected to any violent concussion or jar, I provide a flexible part between the peripheries of said gear-wheels and the axle. As here shown, each of said wheels comprises a hub N, rigidly geared to the axle and havinga number of peripheral re? cesses 11, four being here shown. The periphery 0 of the wheel is provided with the teeth 0' to engage the pinion K. This part of the wheel is formed of a rim having a web extending from one side thereof, to the hub upon which the said web is rotatably mounted. The under side of the rim 0 is also formed with a number of recesses n, the same corresponding with the recesses in the hub N, and the hub and rim are then connected by strong leaf-springs I, fitting into the recesses of the hub and of the rim. The springs are secured in the recesses 11 by suitable bolts 1) passing therethrough, but are left free at their ends in the recesses 12'. The inner side of the wheel is closed up flush with the outer edge of the rim by a suitable plate Q, secured thereto. Obviously a heavy pull upon the rim of a wheel constructed as just described would bring the springs Pinto action and permit a false motion of the rim upon said springs depending upon their strength forits extent. The gears just referred to as having flexible parts between their hubs and their peripheries are designated, and will be hereinafter referred to, as dynamomet ric gears. The motor being mounted so as to be movable up and down between supporting-springs, the position of the pinion K will vary to some extent between the gear-wheels L hit, but not sufficiently to disengage the same therefrom in view of their flexible construction, as their peripheries will yield to compensate the vertical movements of the pinion. This, however, while overcoming one prominent difficulty, will not be sufficient to secure the contin uous operation of the machine, since whenever the truck is upon a track not perfectly level the gears L M will be out of alignm nt. 1 therefore provide a specially-constructed pinion K, which will permit of some movement of its own parts and distortion of the pitch-line of its teeth, thus accommodating itself to the varying positions of the gearwheels wit-h which it is in mesh.

The pinion K is composed of any desired number of metal disks 7c, clamped together and formed with peripheral teeth. The said pinion is geared onto the armature-shaft h; but the connections between the plates, as also the connection between the pinion and the shaft, are sufficiently loose to permit the said plates to move slightly with respect to each other to produce the distortion or false movementnecessary to maintain an operative connection between said pinion and the gears L M under all conditions.

Fig. 8 is adetail view of the pinion.

With the described construction, which may of. course be modified in various minor respects without departing from the invention, an extremely strong and simple motor mechanism is providec. By the use of the dynamometric gear and a flexible pinion the necessary elasticity is secured. and counter-shafts or intermediate gearing are entirely dispensed with without interfering with the free movement of the separate axles of the truck. The elongated form of motor is also advantageous, in that it permits the placing of a very powerful machine in a very small space, and, moreover, distributes the weight equally upon all the wheels to be driven. Furthermore, the supports for the motor being sleeved upon the axles outside of the motor structure and secured laterally thereto, it will be apparent that either the entire or a part of the upper or lower portion of the motor may be removed without displacing the remainder by merely removing the proper side bolts, then disconnecting the ends of the field-magnets, and removing the desired part, the boxes remaining in position upon the axles and sustaining the remaining parts.

motor, and direct flexible gearing extend 448,562 I-laving described my invention, what I truck, "axles, flexib1egear-whee1s upon the claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat a ies, and a pinion upon the armature-shaft cnt, 1sa 1. An electric locomotive comprising the two independent axles of a car-truck, a single motordisposed between and separately springl supported upon said axles and provided with a. suitable pinion upon its armature-shaft, and dynamometric gears on each axle, said gears being all indirectengagement with the armature-pinion. I

2. An electric locomotive comprising a pair of independent axles to be driven, a motor extending between and separately springsupported at or near the extremities of its field-magnet system upon each of said axles, and direct; dynamometric spur-gearing between the armature-shat't of the motor and each of said axles. r

3. In an electric locomotive, the eombination of a motor having its armature centrally disposed between the independent axles of the motor in mesh wheels, said pinion being formed ott'a plurality of toothed disks flexibly connected together and loosely secured upon the said with the said gearto each other and to the teeth of to be driven, substantially as derelatively the gears scribed. y I

7. In an electric locomotive, a dynamometric gear-wheelcomprising a the axle to be driven, a rim having peripheral teeth, and radial springs extending between the hub and the rim, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the two axles of a car-truck, of an electric-railway motor havin g a double field-magnet sustained part-above and par below the axles to, be driven, and means for supporting the upper and. lower parts of the field-magnet independently.

of a railway-truck and providedwith a suitablepinion and dynainometric gears, one on each axle, said gears engaging the pinion upon opposite sides, whereby said axles are each 9. An electric-railway motor formed of two horseshoe fieldnnagn tachably secured to the ends of the cores,and magnetizing-coils upon theextremities ot' the free to have a tilting movement independent, of each other. e

4. In an electric locomotive, the combinati'on,withtwo axles of a truck, of a motor having its armature normally parallel with said axles and field-magnets extending from axle pole-pieccs, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the axles of a oar-truck, of a motor comprising a central armature and a double field-magnet extending over the said axles and divisible upon its to axle, supporting-boxes sleeved upon the axles and connected with the ends of the field-magnet system of the motor, and springs I above and below the boxes upon the axles, 1 substantially as described. I 5. An electric locomotive comprising two axles of a railway-truck, a motor having a double field-magnet, the outer ends of which extend around said axles, and having its armature and shaft centrally disposed between I the axles and parallel therewith, spring-sup I ports between the axles and the ends of the I in between the armature-shaft and said axles substantially as described. i

6. The combination, in an electric locomotive, of a motor spring-supported upon the central horizontal line, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the axles ofa ear-truck, of a motor having a central armature parallel with and between the axles, a field-magn et extending over the said axles and horizontally divisible, spring boxes sleeved m the axles at each end of the motor, and e ehable connections between the springboxes and the ends of the motor for springsupporting the motor upon .the axles, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' CHARLES .T. VAN

Witnesses:

WM. 1). PooL,

CHAS. L. Qncnsxnn. V

DEPOELE.

shaft, so as to permit movement of, the disks.

hub rigid upon ct. cores, pole-pieces de- Con ection in 

